The times are good over at Tractor Brewing these days. The brewery, which just celebrated 25 years in business, had been prepping for the biggest annual event when a big honor was bestowed upon the brew team with their first Great American Beer Festival medal.

I caught up with head brewer TJ Frederich and events and marketing director Jeremy Kinter to discuss last weekend’s medal and this weekend’s Zombie Carniball and Bazaar.

First up, so Frederich could get back to brewing, we talked about how the Tractor staff found out they won a gold medal for Mustachio Milk Stout in the Sweet Stout or Cream Stout category.

“It was really funny, we had the brew crew come in here at Wells Park and we projected the whole ceremony on the big screen,” he said. “We were having breakfast burritos, and drinking coffee, and there may have been a beer or two, as well. We had a couple categories before that with our Pilsner 15 in the Dortmunder category, it was final table at the World Beer Cup so we thought we had a good chance with that, and then the category exploded from 80 entries at World Beer Cup to 210. We had the Farmers Tan coming up in Irish red, but didn’t get anything in that. We were getting a little worried that we were going to get shut out again.

“They got to the sweet stout category and we see Boxing Bear pop up at silver, and my heart just sunk, because there was zero way that the two best milk stouts in the nation would both be in Albuquerque. We had the closed captioning on, and it felt like a minute from when they announced Boxing Bear to when they announced our name. We actually read it in the subtitles first before we heard it, and we erupted. It was screaming, it was hugs, my phone going crazy. Jeremy’s calling me, Dave’s calling me, Skye’s calling me. We’re all running around, high-fiving.”

It was actually the second time in recent years that two New Mexico breweries medaled in the same category. Back in 2022, Ex Novo (silver) and Quarter Celtic (bronze) were both awarded for their Scotch ales.

Those were seasonal one-off releases, however, whereas Mustachio has been one of Tractor’s flagship beers for many years now.

“The funny part is we got great feedback on this at World Beer Cup, it was final table. They kind of felt it needed just a little something to push it over the edge. We made one small grain change with a grain that’s 5 percent of our bill, that’s now a permanent change. That’s the only difference in the beer, which is now permanent, according to Dave (Hargis), we’re not allowed to change it back.”

“You had thought, if you were a betting person, that you would have won with the pilsner, right?” Kinter asked.

“The pilsner has been, I’ve sent it to three competitions, twice to GABF and once to World Beer Cup, and it has been final table every time under Dortmunder/Oktoberfest,” Frederich replied. “It’s why I thought it was going to be pilsner. I’ve told you many times my pilsner is the one that’s going to win, it will be our first (major) medal. I knew we were close after World Beer Cup in milk stout, as well.”

Frederich said he had a feeling, though, that Pilsner 15 faced an uphill battle, simply based on how much beer he was asked to send to GABF. More bottles of the pilsner were requested than his other entries, which was a sign that its category was a big one.

Regardless, everyone at Tractor will take their time to enjoy their first GABF medal. Congrats to the brewing team!

New name and theme for annual pre-Halloween party

For anyone wondering what happened to the Stranger Things Arcade Carnival, it got a makeover of sorts this year, and will be back in its new form as the Zombie Carniball and Bazaar this Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Wells Park location.

“We chanted the concept this year from Stranger Things to a broader brand and appeal, because we’re finding that with Stranger Things Arcade Carnival, (the) event branding doesn’t hit when there isn’t a season (on Netflix),” Kinter said. “It’s on its last season (coming up), so us and Blackout discussed and decided to move away.

“We decided to go with zombie and we added the ‘carniball’ because we’re going to have pinball machines, so it’s not going to be an arcade carnival. We’re getting those from Geekon, and as you know they do the pinball machines for Sister downtown. We’re renting them out and those will be free play.”

Tickets are currently available online for $15, and on the day of the event they will be $20 at the door.

“And then, we’ll have the bazaar, we’ll have six local vendors,” Kinter said. “We’ll have a zombie art installation, it’s a zombie couple, that people can take pictures with. Outside we’ll have your typical booths, so we’ll have Self Serve doing their spanking booth, we’ll have a caricature artist, a magician Dave Grimm doing close-up magic, we’ll have a face painter, and a tarot card reader as well. We’ve got some good entertainment there.”

Spectral Youth, which co-hosts the monthly Goth Night & Dark Market and the weekly Tractor of Terror movie night, will oversee the vendors outside. Umami Moto and Cattle Tags will be parked alongside to keep everyone well fed throughout the evening.

There will also be live music and special performances going on all night.

“We’ve got DJ Riff Rat spinning at 6 p.m. going till about 7:30, and then it’s going to be Youngsville,” Kinter said. “After that, Cee Mo & The Lovers, and that’s all on the outdoor stage. Then, things will move indoors as Blackout Theater is putting on a variety show. There will be carnival performers, a comedian/magician, there’s going to be the company putting on some sketch comedy stuff, and then Rusty (Rutherford) is doing some comedy, as well. Then, after that, we move back to the outdoor stage and Red Light Cameras is going to shut it down.”

Overall, it is the same party that Tractor’s loyal customers have come to love over the years, just with a few twists and tweaks.

“We’re really excited with this concept,” Kinter said. “I think it has broader appeal. We’re still adjusting to it. It’s time to move away from that and do something new. We’ll have an outdoor bar, as well, and some drink specials. It’ll be a good time. Hopefully the weather holds up.”

Spooky season is typically chilly season in these parts, so add a layer or two to your costume, as those are encouraged, especially those of the zombie variety.

A big thanks to TJ and Jeremy for taking the time to chat during a very busy week.

Keep supporting local!

— Stoutmeister